FRANCE are aiming to forget the group stage and live up to their fierce reputation with a victory over Belgium in their last-16 tie of Euro 2024.
Les Bleus have received much criticism back home after failing to win their final two group matches and finishing second in Group D.
France are out to win the Euros for a third time having failed to make good on their label as favourites in the last two tournaments.
Didier Deschamps has faced up to plenty of criticism amid claims that off-pitch political matters are disrupting the French camp.
And a slight 1-0 victory over Austria in the group opener, following by two lacklustre draws has left a lot to be desired.
Of course, Kylian Mbappe’s broken nose didn’t help things, but the French need him back and firing on all fronts if they are to advance to the final.
As well as Kevin De Bruyne’s Belgian side, France have Germany, Spain, Portugal on their brutal side of the Euro 2024 draw.
But Belgium can claim to have even bigger issues after being BOOED off by their fans following their goalless draw with Ukraine.
In their away kit inspired by Tintin, they were extremely reliant on their most Tintin-like player, De Bruyne.
The Red Devils also scored just twice in their three games, with Romelu Lukaku cutting an increasingly frustrated figure after having three goals ruled out by VAR.
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Belgium also finished runners up in Group E and only achieved one victory – a 2-0 win over Romania.
However, one of these teams has to progress with Portugal or Slovenia awaiting in the quarter-finals.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of France’s showdown clash with Belgium on Monday.
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France Euro 2024 guide
FRANCE are the one nation all England fans are truly afraid of.
They are many punters’ favourites after knocking the Three Lions out of the 2022 World Cup and will be hoping to do much better than at Euro 2020, when they lost to Switzerland in the last 16.
MANAGER: Didier Deschamps
Coming up to 12 years in the job, the only thing missing from his CV is a European Championship.
STAR MAN: Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe’s PSG may have underachieved on the European stage but he remains France’s most deadly threat, with a World Cup trophy and a World Cup final hat-trick to his name.
How France attack
Expect to see France play in a fluid 4-3-3 – which becomes 4-2-3-1 in possession – throughout the tournament.
Giroud acts as the focal point in the attack with the two wide players and Griezmann as No 10 supporting.
How France defend
We can expect to see France defend high with an emphasis on winning back possession as far up the pitch as possible.
France will stagger their defensive shape when the opposition are in possession.
Read the full France Euro 2024 guide here, including predicted line-ups, odds and Wags.
What is their form like?
France managed one win and two draws in the group stages and came out second behind shock contenders Austria.
France have struggled to get up to speed this summer and are yet to put on a convincing performance.
Les Bleus have failed to score from open play at Euro 2024, after an Austrian own-goal secured a French win over Austria and Mbappe’s penalty in their 1-1 draw with Poland.
They were then lucky to avoid defeat in their goalless draw with the Netherlands – who finished and qualified in third place.
The Dutch thought they’d won it when Xavi Simons slotted past X inside 70 minutes before VAR controversially overturned it due to a goalkeeper obstruction.
Meanwhile Belgium suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Slovakia in their opening tie, but beat Group E winners Romania 2-0 in the second match.
Before being out classed by a very unlucky Ukrainian side and limply passing through to the knockouts.
What is the team news and any injuries to worry about?
Mbappe was fit to start against Poland having broken his nose in their Euro 2024 opener, which will see him play out the rest of the tournament in a face mask.
France brought Bradley Barcola into the line-up for Antoine Griezmann, after the youngster scored a hattrick in their mid-tournament friendly.
Olivier Giroud and Marcus Thuram will also hope to get the nod in attack, perhaps moving Mbappe out wide.
Belgium boss Domenico Tedesco has struggled with the problem of how to fit their wealth of attacking players into a coherent system.
Sevilla winger Dodi Lukebakio is back from a ban to offer an alternative to Leandro Trossard, who has so far failed to impress.
Manchester City’s Jeremy Doku has also failed to set the world alight, so Timeoue Bakayoko could get the nod to start on the left-wing.
Up front, RB Leipzig striker Lois Openda hit 24 goals in the Bundesliga last season but looks set to remain on the bench behind Lukaku.
Who will be the star men?
Mbappe was the top goalscorer of the Qatar World Cup in 2022 (8 goals) – and most attacking finesse comes through him.
The 25-year-old is the difference maker but N’ Golo Kante will step up to help him deal with Belgium’s talented midfield.
The Red Devils need De Bruyne to produce a world class performance to get them through this tie with tournament specialists France.
De Bruyne created the only two chances against Ukraine, but Lukaku let him and side down on both occassions.
The Man City midfield maestro will need help though – Trossard needs to step up, as well as Doku.
What have the managers said?
French boss Deschamps insisted his side will only improve after their disappointing group-stage showing.
Deschamps, 55, said: “It is a new competition that is starting.
“You cannot always read a competition just from the group stage. We deserve to be second, I am satisfied.
“Now it is going to be a little bit more down to the wire; now we’ve only got the big teams but that is the name of the game.
“I would be a lot more concerned if we were not creating chances but obviously there is room for improvement.”
Meanwhile Belgium boss Tedesco claimed Belgium’s latest performance was impacted by their delayed pre-match arrival.
He said: “We arrived at the stadium in circumstances I’ve never seen before.
“It took one hour to come from the hotel with a police escort. The road was completely free, but they slowed down to 20-25 kilometres per hour. Every traffic light was red.
“I had two minutes to make a preparation talk and we had to reduce the warmup. It’s unbelievable, unbelievable, unbelievable.
“There were laser pens being shone in our eyes. There were many things in the first game and we still qualified, that’s why I’m so proud of the players.”
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SunSport prediction
A meeting between two teams that struggled to find the back of the net in the group stage means this could be a low-scoring affair.
It could come down to a moment of magic to settle the match, and France boast a greater number of options capable of producing the goods.
SunSport says 1-0 France.
What are the odds?
- France – 5/6
- Draw – 23/10
- Belgium – 4/1
- France to win tie – 2/5
- Belgium to win tie – 7/4
*Odds courtesy of William Hill and correct at time of publication.
When is France vs Belgium?
- France’s big last 16 game against Belgium will take place on Monday, July 1.
- The game will kick off at 5pm BST.
- The Merkur Spiel-Arena in Dusseldorf, Germany, will play host.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
What channel is it and can it be live streamed?
- France vs Belgium will be shown live on ITV1 and ITV1 HD in the UK.
- You can live stream the action from the ITV X app, which is available for download onto your mobile or tablet device.
Can I watch for FREE?
- Yes, the game is FREE to watch on ITV 1 and the ITV X app, so long as you have a valid TV licence.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
